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First Responders of Democracy: Protecting Press Freedom Worldwide
To mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), The Atlanta Press Club, WABE, World Affairs Council of Atlanta, Online News Association (ONA), and the British Consulate-General Atlanta will host an afternoon event series highlighting global media freedom’s importance. This year’s WPFD takes place amidst several significant conflicts, the incarceration of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others, and fifty national elections across the globe. All this as democratic institutions in many countries are increasingly threatened, making freedom of the press more important than ever.
We want to explore all this and more with Atlanta’s top journalists, media experts, and student community. The workshop will start with a “Reporting Safely” workshop led by the Niketa Panel of CUNY and ONA, followed by a panel discussion moderated by former journalist and World Affairs Council President Rickey Bevington. The panel will bring together veteran local and international journalists, including WABE’s Alex Helmick, to share personal stories from the frontline and discuss why press freedom is critical to democracy.
Workshop leaders
- Niketa Patel, Senior Director, Leadership Programs, CUNY & VP, ONA
- Samantha C. Hamilton, Georgia Journalism & Access Project Attorney, University of Georgia School of Law
- Nicole Carr, Investigative Reporter at Propublica, Adjunct Journalism Professor, Morehouse College
Panelists
- Sophia Qureshi, Founder & Editor, 285 South
- Katja Ridderbusch, Independent Print & Radio Journalist
- Alex Helmick, Managing Editor, WABE
- Moni Basu, Director, MFA in Narrative Nonfiction, Writer in Residence, University of Georgia
- Moderator: Rickey Bevington, President, World Affairs Council of Atlanta